Anyone ever sued for diminished value?

sparkyaclown

Active Member
A couple of months ago someone rear ended me while I was sitting at a stop light. It was clear that the driver wasn't paying attention to what she was doing when it happened. While I can't prove it, my guess is she had her nose in her cell phone instead of eyes on the road. The insurance company took immediate responsibility for it. My car was less than 3 months old when it happened. I am considering trying to go after her for diminished value given that the accident was due to her negligence and not an actual unavoidable circumstance. Also given her demeanor after the accident which she showed no remorse and kinda laughed the whole thing off (I honestly had to walk away from her as I would probably regret my actions had I continued to engage her). Has anyone had experience pursuing a claim like this before? Any recommendations?
 
I'm sure it's frustrating.

If you are the kind of person that turns cars over in short periods (2 years or less) and can show a history of doing that, you might have a shot. If you are the kind of person that holds on to a car for 5-10 years, I personally wouldn't waste my time or money. By the time you sell the vehicle, it will be a moot point for value, long since down-valued by mileage, dings, wear and tear, etc...
 

sparkyaclown

Active Member
Honestly, it's more the person's attitude towards the incident that is driving me. Had she at least shown some kind of remorse, the idea probably wouldn't have crossed my mind.
 

sparkyaclown

Active Member
As an FYI to anyone else interested, apparently all you really need to do is make the request for diminished value to the responsible party's insurance company. They may or may not require some type of appraisal be done. So far in my case they are not requiring it. There is no need to consult a lawyer and go the court route unless the insurance company isn't willing to entertain it. Of course this is not generally advertised and you have to ask them for it in order to kick off that process.
 
As an FYI to anyone else interested, apparently all you really need to do is make the request for diminished value to the responsible party's insurance company. They may or may not require some type of appraisal be done. So far in my case they are not requiring it. There is no need to consult a lawyer and go the court route unless the insurance company isn't willing to entertain it. Of course this is not generally advertised and you have to ask them for it in order to kick off that process.
:yay:
 
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